Was Jack Hughes a “good” first overall pick for the devils.

Why do NHL players make less then other sports? NHL players have always made less then other mainstream sports. they have been seen to be less important due to their different watching ratings. The reasons that NHL players are underpaid is because hockey is a growing sport that hasn’t blossomed yet in American society and still needs it’s time to grow on to people. The NHL has a small platform to speak, however if the NHL branches out to more areas and hockey in general, then the NHL could potentially become one of the biggest sports in the world.

Why are the Capitals so good? The Capitals have been a consistently good team throughout the last couple of years. The reason that the caps are such a good team is because of there team comradery and how well they play together. Many teams have bonds but the Capitals bond is different and special. Many of the players on the capitals have been with the team or organization for a while. That allows for players on the team to build trust and a strong relationship with each other. The best thing for a team to have on the ice is trust, if a team has trust on the ice they can achieve many great things. Another reason on why the capitals are so good is that by most of the players being together for so long, like Ovechkin and Backstrom, they can know how each other play on the ice can ultimately play to each others strengths.

Ilya Kovalchuk is a forward for the Los Angeles Kings. Ilya has had an amazing career and in the future may be even an NHL Hall of Fame candidate. The kings are in the market to trade for Ilya, just because they are in the market for a young or speedy player. As of now Ilya is a restricted free agent looking for a team to come and give him a reasonable contract. Right now there are rumors that two teams are interested, The San Jose Sharks and The Boston Bruins. Both of these teams are in the market for a grizzled veteran who can bring some life to these two young teams. Ilya has also explained that hes not looking far an over the top contract he wants a moderate contract with low years, so maybe he could try and retire in that city.

Why is Ilya such a “must have” for the Sharks?

The San Jose sharks are a struggling team as of now. In the past years the sharks of shown those of the NHL that they are a power house team, however they kind of messed all that up with some bad trades and they’re change in play-style. The sharks, in there last 15 games have gone 1 for 36 on the man advantage. In one of there recent games they played the Coyotes, they were left with a 6 on 3 with a minute and a half, however they were not able to capitalize on the advantage leading to a 3-2 loss. Here is where Ilya Kovalchuk comes into play, Ilya might be one of the most lethal players on a power play and if he were to go to the sharks he would help them tremendously. We see that Ilya is a great player but the team hes on now is not great for him to shine, so going to San Jose could help not only him but the struggling Sharks in there quest for the cup.

The Arizona Coyotes haven’t been the best team over the past couple of years. They have had real trouble with goaltenders as well as reliable players at there positions. After the Coyotes had gotten rid of Mike smith, their old goalie, they put there trust in Antii Rantaa, the backup goalie for the team at the time. Antii has fit very comfortably into the role of starting goaltender for the team, and he has been accepted as a reliable piece to the Coyotes team. The team has been known to be one of the worst in the NHL but after the 2019-20 season has reached its half waypoint the Coyotes season is looking very promising that they will make it past the regular season and maybe even a couple of rounds in the playoffs.

What makes the Coyotes so much better?

The Coyotes have made major improvements to there team throughout the off-season as well as in-season trades. This off-season the Coyotes acquired a very crucial key to there offense, Phil Kessel. Phil is an amazing player and is able to make any team good, just like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Phil was one of the best on the Penguins due to his lethal wrist shot and his ability to work the puck and find the open man. Then, recently during the season, the Coyotes acquired Taylor Hall. Taylor was on the New Jersey Devils and was a good left-wing now that he’s working with a good team, I feel that he could be way better than what he was with the devils, while on the Coyotes. As a result, the Coyotes are a fairly good team trying to look for an opening into the playoffs. Due to there amazing trades, they have put together a solid squad that can function really well together.

Trades can be extremely stressful for not only teams but ultimately fans as well. The reason that these times can be so stressful is because teams don’t want to make wrong moves. There has been many times that teams have made big mistakes by trading away an underdeveloped player and he turns out to be pretty solid with the right coaching. Last year there were many different people to trade for during the deadline such as P.K. Subban, Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Milan Lucic, and James Neal. Many of these trades occurred near the trade deadline making it very stressful for teams and fans.

What are teams looking for in players?

Many teams that are interested in trading for a players, are most likely looking for solid forwards who are good at moving the puck and have a natural instinct to score. One of the most valuable traits in players who are getting looked at is chemistry, many scouts can determine how well you work with people and determining on how the players react there trade value will increase or decrease. An example of this happening is back in 2006 when the Maple Leafs sent Tukka Rask to the Bruins for Andrew Raycroft, and I know what your thinking, who is Andrew Raycroft. This is exact instance of a team getting rid of n under performing player in there early years instead of developing that player. Now, Tukka Rask is a top tier Goaltender for the Bruins. In conclusion, trade can be a hard thing to comprehend from money things to not knowing players name its an easy world to get lost in, however trading pays off for a lot of teams giving them new and improved players to help there team. Trading may be hard but if it’s done correctly it could change your season around in a matter of seconds.

Nathan Mackinnon is a forward for the Colorado Avalanche who has recently, through the last couple of seasons, proven himself as a top franchise player for the Avalanche. Mackinnon has played out of his mind this year playing only 32 games scoring a total of 50 points. Mackinnon has been with the Avalanche his entire career and he wasn’t really known as a big play maker, however it’s clear to see he’s earned that title by now. It’s been known that the Avalanche have been somewhat of the laughing stock of the NHL but recently they’ve began to shine, due to the connection of teammates and coaches.

What is Mcakinnon’s view on being on a struggling team?

Mackinnon has recently commented on how he feels playing for the Avalanche and he said “I have no regrets.” This is showing most fans that Nathan is perfectly fine with spending his career in Colorado and feels that staying with them will pay off. The Avalanche have said in the past that Mackinnon is the player that there focusing there development on the most. Mackinnon, unfortunately, is being under paid on his team, as a considered franchise player his contract is only $44.1 Million dollars for 7 years when most franchise players are being paid probably double that amount. As a result Mackinnon is a good player and with time he could probably become one of the best in the NHL, he also has shown a lot of love to his team by not walking away yet. However he hasn’t been shown any gratitude from his team, by there inability to pay him the amount of money he deserves. He has many options he could ask for a better contract when its up, he could ask for a trade, or he could even test free agency, but at the end of the day it’s all up to what’s best for him.

Gary Bettman has been seen as a villain for many years by the fans of the NHL, but now what has he done? Well, Gary is not the most lenient when it comes to listening to fans however he never really seems to care or show any sympathy. Just recently the NHL has come to an agreement on a code of conduct, this code will be put on coaches and players. This code is probably the result of the late Mike Babcock situation with kicking players and a nasty choice of words. This code is a good idea to keep players in check, but it seems to not give players any privacy and ultimately not giving them any room to do what they want to do.

When will the code be in effect?

This code has just been given to the NHL committee, so at this time the code has not been passed. The code hasn’t had any time to show its rounds to the public, so the rules that follow this code aren’t known. We could assume that this code could contain rules anywhere from proper etiquette in public to what you wear or dress into games, and it could be extremely strict or laid back. Knowing the NHL, this code will probably be extremely strict and any violations of this code will lead to a fine or in extreme cases even a suspension. All in all, it’s safe to say that there are many different views of this code, there are good ones and bad ones, however, it’s all up to how strict the NHL wants to be about these new rules.

Thomas’ Career

Tim Thomas was a well respected Goaltender for the Boston Bruins, he was in his prime around 2011 when he won his first Stanley Cup title when he went 35-11-9 in only 57 games. Tim was always a good goalie but unfortunately played for a team that wasn’t too advanced or overly talented, so must of the Bruins wins were because of him. Tim ended his career not to far after, being traded to the Dallas Stars and only playing 8 games. Tim never really gave an explanation to his sudden retirement in the NHL he ended up giving a short speech to press and saying goodbye to the NHL. Tim has been pretty quiet for the last 6 years, until now.

Tim’s words of retirement

Tim has suddenly spoken out on why he decided to walk away from the NHL after an impressive career spanning 11 seasons. Thomas finally made an appearance to the public on December 12th, for his induction into the Hall of Fame. Thomas said “I couldn’t communicate with anybody for a few years,” (ESPN,https://www.espn.com/nhl/story). Thomas said that in one of his games with the Panthers he sustained a concussion which has been seen as the cost of his career, and he never felt the same again. This is a pretty sad thing to think about for a man to loose his career due to a brain injury, which is consequently why Thomas left the league in such silence, due to the fact that he was in denile of what had happened and wasn’t ready to accept what had happened.

Mike Babcock has not had the best reputation over the years. It all started in 2009 when Mike costed the Detroit Red Wings there Stanley Cup. In 2008 The Red Wings had beat the Penguins for the cup but the next year was a whole different story. In 2009 The Red Wings had a tough season and for them to make it to the finals was an accomplishment in it’s self, however, during the finals Mike over worked most of the players and made a lot of bad calls leading to the wings loss in a game seven against the penguins. Years later many players from the wings now say that Babcock was a horrible person and an abusive coach this was only the start of it all.

Mike’s current days?

As of now Mike is no longer apart of any organization after being fired by the leafs in late November. Mike has a history in the coaching, being the only person to ever lead a team to a Stanley Cup title, an Olympic Gold Medal, a World Championship, and a World Juniors Championship. With all these accomplishments it’s visible to say that he was one of the better coaches of his time, however, many of his players weren’t saying the same. Just recently a former Red Wing told media that Babcock was “The Worst person i have ever met.” Showing that even his own players don’t think to fond of him. So in the end it seems as if Mike won’t have a job in the NHL anymore he might find work in some other league, but from what it seems i think it’s over for Babcock.